Perfume Ch. 03

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone! Thanks to those of you who are still with me. I love getting your reactions to each new chapter!

I consider Chapter 3 to be the breakthrough chapter because everything up to this point, has served as a build up in order for me to take Eric and Wynston where I want them to go.

In the next chapter, I will work to develop their relationship more; so thank you so much for being patient while the story unfolds.

Keep those comments coming; I love hearing from you!

LaLa

*

For the umpteenth time that day, Eric cursed the bank teller. He wanted to wring her scrawny little neck for fucking up his money.

Now he was in a bank during a robbery.

But he never dwelled on what couldn't be changed.

Instead, he thought of how terrified the teller must be right now, along with everyone else who was still in the lobby. He sent up a silent prayer for their safety.

Eric admitted to himself that if not for Angela's blunder, he would not have been thrown together with the woman who was now in his arms.

He and the woman were nestled rather intimately in the small utility room near the restrooms.

She had been trembling, so he'd wrapped his arms around her protectively, trying his best to offer her comfort.

But she was choking him.

In her angst, she had grabbed his lapel in one hand; and in the other, she had a death grip on his tie.

He very gently removed her fingers from it and offered his other lapel for her to destroy.

"Sorry," she whispered shakily.

"Don't worry about it," he whispered back, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

Later—and there would be a later...he would make damn sure of it—Eric needed to explore his actions.

He didn't quite understand why he felt so strongly about this woman whom he didn't even know; he just knew that he did.

But before he could indulge himself with thoughts of her, they had to get out of there safely first.

So he put the alluring female out of his mind and focused on survival.

***

Two women exited the bank. One wore a blonde wig, the other a red wig. They both gave subtle nods of the head as they parted ways.

Their job had been to render the two loan officers unconscious.

Normally there were four loan counselors in all, and their offices were located toward the back of the bank, away from the lobby.

However, this week one was on vacation and another wasn't scheduled to arrive until later.

This left Mr. Stan Bateman and Mrs. Veronica West who had unfortunately shown for work today.

By procuring two "appointments," the blonde and the red head were each able to take the unsuspecting loan representatives by surprise, and quickly insert the solution of aspirin and water into their veins.

This left Stan and Veronica unconscious, their bodies slumped over their desks.

***

The occupants of the minivan sprang into action, swiftly entering the bank.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS A STICK UP!" yelled Rob.

What followed was mayhem; people began to scream and panic.

"FIRST, I WANT EVERYBODY TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! NEXT, I WANT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS! WE ONLY CAME HERE FOR ONE THING...THAT WOULD BE THE MONEY! YOU OBEY EVERYTHING I SAY, YOU WALK OUTTA HERE SAFELY TO GO HOME TO YOUR FAMILIES! I DON'T WANT ANY FUCKING HEROES, OR I WILL DROP YOU!" he threatened.

Rob felt the familiar rush of adrenaline he always did during a heist. He was a fucking adrenaline junkie and lived for this shit. It had been too long since their last job.

He motioned to Ethan who nodded and jumped over the counter like a gazelle. Then he signaled to Greer and Mike, and the two of them took off toward the restrooms.

While Ethan handled the tellers, Rob walked in front of each customer and had them drop their cell phones into a plastic garbage bag. He had the women toss their purses in the middle of the floor.

"OK, YOU HEARD THE MAN. I WANT ALL YOUR PURSES, WALLETS AND CELL PHONES," Ethan told the employees.

"GOOD!" he said, as they each slid their belongings toward him.

"NOW PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS AND GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR...EXCEPT YOU TWO," he said motioning to Octavia and her co-worker Andrew.

Ethan pointed them in the direction of the cash drawers.

"Open them and take out the cash now!!! Move like you mean it or I'll blow your fucking brains out!" Ethan said nastily.

"Nice ass you got there, ma'am," he said to Octavia as she rushed to open the first drawer.

"Hey Boss, I see something I want...can I keep her?" he asked, flippantly.

"Maybe," Rob called. "After we get the money we'll see if there's room for her!"

He eyed the clock on the wall and was pleased to find that they were ahead of schedule.

Grabbing two large, black duffel bags Rob tossed them over the counter to Ethan.

"ALRIGHT, YOU MA'AM, FILL THIS BAG. YOU SIR, FILL THAT ONE...PRONTO!!! TIME IS MONEY!!! AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THROWING IN A DYE PACK OR I WILL MAIM YOU!" Ethan promised.

As Rob patrolled the front where the customers all laid obediently on the floor, they heard the blaring of sirens approaching.

He and Ethan stood frozen in place as the sirens grew louder.

No one moved a muscle.

One-by-one, six police cars sped pass the bank and down the street. The relief emanating from Rob and Ethan was palpable.

Their plan had worked.

An "anonymous caller" had reported a bank robbery at one of the smaller banks a few miles away. It was designed to throw the authorities off of their scent.

Rob turned to look at Ethan who started to laugh. Soon, both men were laughing uproariously.

"I swear I just aged ten years, man!!!" Ethan called to Rob.

"No shit," Rob replied.

For a split second, they had been nervous that their plan had gone awry...which was always a risk during these kinds of jobs.

Nothing was guaranteed and something could always go wrong...which was the appeal for them.

But too much of a good thing was often deadly. It was time to kick this thing into high gear so they could get the hell out of there.

***

Wynston had never been so terrified in her life. Her heart was pounding in such a way that she was sure the robbers could hear it from their positions in the lobby.

In that moment, she longed for the simplicity of life, and relished the thought of speaking to a banker about her overdrawn account.

It would be so much milder than experiencing this kind of terror.

Then she thought of how unpredictable life was.

When her gorgeous savior had dragged her to the utility room, Wynston had wondered if she had anything to fear from him. As it turned out, he had protected her from danger.

Which brought another question to mind...how had he known the bank was going to be robbed?

Then Wynston contemplated the morality of what they'd done. The two of them had left the others out there to fend for themselves.

Would she ever see him again or would he have to live the rest of his life motherless?

No, Wynston thought. He would not be motherless. She would fight to live for her son if it came down to it.

Her musings were interrupted when she felt her stranger shift.

He moved ever so slowly and pulled his BlackBerry out of its holster. She watched him put the phone on silent, and dial 911.

Wynston could hear the dispatcher on the other end.

"911, what is your emergency?" she asked.

"My name is Eric Torres. I'm at the National Bank of Baltimore on Fayette St. The bank is being robbed," he said quietly.

He only stayed on the line long enough for the dispatcher to repeat back what he'd said, and to answer a couple of pertinent questions. Then he pushed the End button, disconnecting the call.

Eric Torres, Wynston thought. His name was Eric...it was fitting.

Then her brain began to function. "I should turn off my cell phone, too. What if it rings?" she asked.

Before Eric could answer, they heard shouting and footsteps coming toward them.

"Check that one and I'll check this one," a voice ordered.

Wynston and Eric listened as the bathroom doors on either side of them burst open.

They could hear stall doors being slammed open, the robbers obviously looking for anyone who may have gone in there.

"Nothing, right?" one of the men asked.

"Nah. You?" replied the second man.

The first robber sounded irritated, "Empty. I told you and Rob there would be nothing to worry about. It's too damn early in the morning. But nobody can ever say shit to any of you. I told you, we've got this!"

"Look, you little fucker," growled the second robber.

"Don't call anybody by name...we told you that already. I'm warning you, do not dick around with me. You got a problem with my brother fucking your girl, you deal with him later. But don't you even think about fucking this up. Just stick to the goddamn plan so we can do what we came to do, and get the fuck outta here," he barked.

"Now what about this door?" he asked, turning the doorknob. "It's locked."

"It's a closet for custodians or something. Don't worry about it! Let's just get this show on the road!" the first man said.

As the closet's occupants listened, they heard the welcome sound of retreating footsteps. Wynston was relieved. They were safe...at least for the time being.

***

Eric's jaw clenched as he stood there listening to the exchange between the two robbers.

He almost laughed, the situation was so ridiculous.

One of the robbers was Mike. He thought the other voice belonged to that kid Greer who always used to follow Rob around like a lapdog.

If Mike and Greer were here doing a job, Rob and Ethan had to be somewhere in the bank as well...Greer had pretty much confirmed that.

Unbelievable.

What were the odds that they would hit this particular bank...today...while he was in it?

And he had just called the cops on them.

Eric knew for certain that when they found out he had made the call to the police, they would come after him.

There was no way his brothers would believe that he hadn't tried to snitch on them.

***

Greer was humiliated.

Not only had Mike just talked down to him as if he weren't a man, but he was now sure that Rob was fucking Octavia.

That first day when he'd introduced Octavia to Rob more than a year ago, he had seen the looks Rob had given her...he had looked at her like she was a piece of meat.

And what's worse, he'd done it right there in front of Greer as if he wasn't even in the room.

When Rob had sent him to the bar with Ethan and asked—no commanded Octavia to stay behind, Greer hadn't really thought anything of it.

He had just figured Rob was being thorough; and besides, Greer had been high off the fact that the Torres brothers wanted in on his plan.

HIS fucking plan, he thought bitterly.

Now here he was, stripped of his manhood, his woman and taking orders from the Torres's on a plan he had masterminded.

Greer knew it was a matter of time before Octavia left him for Rob; and he was pissed the fuck off. He had essentially made all of them richer, and this was his reward.

Fuck that, he thought.

Right then he made up his mind. For once in his miserable life, he would grow a pair and handle his business.

If he could architect a bank heist such as this one, revenge should be a cake walk.

He even knew who his first target would be.

***

As she stuffed money from the cash drawers into the duffel bag, Octavia was both thrilled and scared. She was thrilled because they were finally pulling off this job.

And Rob...she'd never seen him so intense before.

Usually he was very laid back and never raised his voice...he never needed to. But there was always a hint of danger that lingered around him.

Today, she'd gotten a glimpse of it. He was barking orders at everyone like he was a drill sergeant. She loved it.

Apparently she had been acting more thrilled than scared because Ethan shoved his 9mm in her face with a nasty, "Don't fuck with me, bitch! Get the money in the bag faster," he warned.

Octavia was going to get him back for that later. She focused on playing her part.

Then she remembered that Eric guy and the woman he dragged away from the lobby with him. What the hell should she do about that?

She had intended to fix the situation, but there was no way she could do that without varying from the plan; and that was a no-no.

Octavia decided she would tell Rob as soon as she could; however, she would conveniently leave out the events that led to Eric seeing them beforehand.

Hopefully Greer and Mike had already found the two troublemakers and she wouldn't have to say anything at all.

She continued to feverishly fling the money into the waiting bag. When all the drawers had been cleaned, she put her hands behind her head and waited for more instructions.

"Very nice," Ethan said to Octavia, slapping her on the ass.

"Now I want all you employees to get up, put your hands back behind your heads and walk single-file to the middle of the lobby," he instructed, kicking their discarded cell phones out of the way.

"My, my, we have such good little boys and girls!" he taunted as the frightened employees followed his orders.

"That's right, join the rest of your compadres...nice and easy," he said.

Ethan quickly grabbed Octavia by the back of the neck. "Uh, uh, uh little girl, my boss has got plans for you!" he said.

He roughly pushed Octavia toward Rob who in turn pushed her toward the back of the bank. "Take me to the vault, sweetheart," he commanded.

"TIME IS WINDING DOWN, BOSS. MAKE THIS ONE COUNT," Ethan yelled after them.

As Rob and Octavia met up with Mike and Greer, they kept up the hostage act for the cameras. Once at the vault, they all collectively gasped, unable to believe their luck.

It was true.

The vault's security was laughable and took Greer only moments to disable with his high-tech gadgets.

Even though they had done extensive research, they were all still surprised by the amount of money that the bank carried.

Most banks only kept enough to service their customers' needs on a daily basis. This one was a veritable gold mine.

It was all too simple.

The crew worked quickly and fluidly to load their duffel bags neatly with money. At Octavia's direction, they were careful to avoid the stacks with the dreaded dye packs.

Then, Octavia unlocked targeted safe deposit boxes in which owners had foolishly placed valuables such as expensive jewelry and money.

Rob looked at his watch. "Alright, let's wrap this shit up. We only have a few minutes left to get the fuck outta here."

He grabbed Octavia and wrapped his arm around her neck in a choke hold.

"You know, you're getting too good at that," she muttered.

"Later on when I choke you, it will be with your pussy squeezing my dick," he said thickly.

Octavia immediately felt a pool in her panties.

"Did you guys find the two customers that came this way?" she asked.

Rob tensed. "What fucking customers?" he demanded.

"There were two of them....a man and a woman. You couldn't miss the guy...he's like a giant or something." Octavia said.

She left out how fine he was.

Rob swung around to look at Mike and Greer.

"We didn't see anybody. We kicked in every single bathroom door," Mike said.

"Find them," Rob said menacingly.

"Look bro, we don't have time for this shit. We got the money, let's get the fuck outta here," Mike reasoned.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!" Rob shouted. "Did anybody stop to think what if these two called the cops?! Who knows what the fuck they've been doing this entire time! Find them!" he snarled.

Mike shot Octavia a nasty look and ran in the direction of the loan offices while Greer once again went into the men's restrooms.

Rob dragged Octavia with him into the women's restrooms. Once in there, he removed his hold and the both of them searched the stalls.

Nothing.

As the four met once again, they all confirmed that they hadn't found anyone.

"Look, we need to get outta here, man," Greer began.

But he was interrupted by Mike. "Normally I would agree, but we have a problem."

All eyes swung to him.

"Earlier when we checked the bathrooms, dickhead here decided he wanted to use names," Mike said.

"If we got two people running around here unaccounted for, it's possible they could've heard him use your name," Mike said looking at Rob.

Rob cursed profusely. Just when he would rip Greer a new one, Ethan shouted from the front. They only had a few more minutes to make their getaway.

Rob was about to give the order to leave, when Mike uttered a string of curse words.

"That motherfucking closet!" he yelled, looking at the small door that had bothered him earlier. "They're in the fucking closet!!!"

Once again, everyone turned in unison, directing their gazes at the small utility room.

"Do you have the key?" Rob asked Octavia.

Wordlessly she walked toward the small door. Fumbling with the keychain around her wrist, she struggled to quickly find the correct key.

Her hands stilled. Behind her, the three men froze.

There was the unmistakable cry of police sirens in the distance.

"What the fuck?" Rob said incredulously.

At the same moment, they heard Ethan's voice from the lobby. "GET IN HERE NOW!!! WE GOT COMPANY ON THE WAY!!!"

***

The utility room was sweltering.

And now, the two occupants were listening to the jingle of keys, preparing for the worst.

Then there was the blessed sound of retreating footsteps, then silence.

Once again, they sighed with relief.

All of a sudden, a key was inserted in the lock and the door swung open, emitting the blinding brightness of fluorescent lighting and daylight.

Eric instinctively shoved the woman behind him; and when his vision adjusted, he found that he was staring down the barrel of a Smith & Wesson.

***

Rob stared into a pair of hazel eyes that were similar to his own. He lowered the gun slightly, not believing that the missing person in question was his brother; the "giant" as Octavia had called him.